,,ii #aagth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #dedi ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,july #ai1 #bjbb,mr4 ,cornyn 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,durbin1 ,mr4 ,grassley1 ,mr4 ,coons1 ,mr4 ,cotton1 ,mr4 ,ossoff1 ,mrs4 ,blackburn1 ,mr4 ,whitehouse1 and ,mr4 ,kennedy7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on the ,judiciary ,a ,,bill ,to provide for a system for reviewing the case files of cold case murders at the instance of certain persons1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,homicide ,victims' ,families' ,rights ,act of #bjbb4 #b4 ,case file review 7a7 ,in general ,the head of an agency shall review the case file regarding a cold case murder upon written application by one designated person to determine if a full reinvestigation would result in either the identification of probative investigative leads or a likely perpetrator4 7b7 ,review ,the review under subsection 7a7 shall include-- 7#a7 an analysis of what investigative steps or follow-up steps may have been missed in the initial investigation2 7#b7 an assessment of whether witnesses should be interviewed or reinterviewed2 7#c7 an examination of physical evidence to see if all appropriate forensic testing and analysis was performed in the first instance or if additional testing might produce information relevant to the investigation2 and 7#d7 an update of the case file using the most current investigative standards as of the date of the review to the extent it would help develop probative leads4 7c7 ,certification in lieu of review ,in any case in which a written application for review has been received under this ,act by the agency1 review shall be unnecessary where the case does not satisfy the criteria for a cold case murder4 ,in such a case1 the head of the agency shall issue a written certification1 with a copy provided to the designated person that made the application under subsection 7a71 stating that final review is not necessary because all probative investigative leads have been exhausted or that a likely perpetrator will not be identified4 7d7 ,reviewer ,a review required under subsection 7a7 shall not be conducted by a person who previously investigated the murder at issue4 7e7 ,acknowledgment ,the agency shall provide in writing to the applicant as soon as reasonably possible-- 7#a7 confirmation of the agency's receipt of the application under subsection 7a72 and 7#b7 notice of the applicant's rights under this ,act4 7f7 ,prohibition on multiple concurrent reviews ,only one case review shall be undertaken at any one time with respect to the same cold case murder victim4 7g7 ,time limit ,not later than #f months after the receipt of the written application submitted pursuant to subsection 7a71 the agency shall conclude its case file review and reach a conclusion about whether or not a full reinvestigation under section #d is warranted4 7h7 ,extensions 7#a7 ,in general ,the agency may extend the time limit under subsection 7g7 once for a period of time not to exceed #f months if the agency makes a finding that the number of case files to be reviewed make it impracticable to comply with such limit without unreasonably taking resources from other law enforcement activities4 7#b7 ,actions ,subsequent to ,waiver ,for cases for which the time limit in subsection 7g7 is extended1 the agency shall provide notice and an explanation of its reasoning to one designated person who filed the written application pursuant to this section4 #c4 ,application ,each agency shall develop a written application to be used for designated persons to request a case file review under section #b4 #d4 ,full reinvestigation 7a7 ,in general ,the agency shall conduct a full reinvestigation of the cold case murder at issue if the review of the case file required by section #b concludes that a full reinvestigation of such cold case murder would result in probative investigative leads4 7b7 ,reinvestigation ,a full reinvestigation shall include analyzing all evidence regarding the cold case murder at issue for the purpose of developing probative investigative leads or a likely perpetrator4 7c7 ,reviewer ,a reinvestigation required under subsection 7a7 shall not be conducted by a person who previously investigated the murder at issue4 7d7 ,prohibition on ,multiple ,concurrent ,reviews ,only one full reinvestigation shall be undertaken at any one time with respect to the same cold case murder victim4 #e4 ,consultation and updates 7a7 ,in general ,the agency shall consult with the designated person who filed the written application pursuant to section #b and provide him or her with periodic updates during the case file review and full reinvestigation4 7b7 ,explanation of ,conclusion ,the agency shall meet with the designated person and discuss the evidence to explain to the designated person who filed the written application pursuant to section #b its decision whether or not to engage in the full reinvestigation provided for under section #d at the conclusion of the case file review4 #f4 ,subsequent reviews 7a7 ,case file review ,if a review under subsection 7a7 case file regarding a cold case murder is conducted and a conclusion is reached not to conduct a full reinvestigation1 no additional case file review shall be required to be undertaken under this ,act with respect to that cold case murder for a period of five years1 unless there is newly discovered1 materially significant evidence4 ,an agency may continue an investigation absent a designated person's application4 7b7 ,full ,reinvestigation ,if a full reinvestigation of a cold case murder is completed and a suspect is not identified at its conclusion1 no additional case file review or full reinvestigation shall be undertaken with regard to that cold case murder for a period of five years beginning on the date of the conclusion of the reinvestigation1 unless there is newly discovered1 materially significant evidence4 #g4 ,data collection 7a7 ,in general ,beginning on the date that is three years after the date of enactment of this ,act1 and annually thereafter1 the ,director of the ,national ,institute of ,justice shall publish statistics on the number of cold case murders4 7b7 ,manner of ,publication ,the statistics published pursuant to subsection 7a7 shall1 at a minimum1 be disaggregated by the circumstances of the cold case murder1 including the classification of the offense1 and by agency4 #h4 ,procedures to promote compliance 7a7 ,regulations ,not later than one year after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the head of each agency shall promulgate regulations to enforce the right of a designated person to request a review under this ,act and to ensure compliance by the agency with the obligations described in this ,act4 7b7 ,procedures ,the regulations promulgated under subsection 7a7 shall-- 7#a7 designate an administrative authority within the agency to receive and investigate complaints relating to a review initiated under section #b or a reinvestigation initiated under section #d2 7#b7 require a course of training for appropriate employees and officers within the agency regarding the procedures1 responsibilities1 and obligations required under this ,act2 7#c7 contain disciplinary sanctions1 which may include suspension or termination from employment1 for employees of the agency who are shown to have willfully or wantonly failed to comply with this ,act2 7#d7 provide a procedure for the resolution of complaints filed by the designated person concerning the agency's handling of a cold case murder investigation or the case file evaluation2 and 7#e7 provide that the head of the agency1 or the designee thereof1 shall be the final arbiter of the complaint1 and that there shall be no judicial review of the final decision of the head of the agency by a complainant4 #i4 ,withholding information ,nothing in this ,act shall require an agency to provide information that would endanger the safety of any person1 unreasonably impede an ongoing investigation1 violate a court order1 or violate legal obligations regarding privacy4 #aj4 ,multiple agencies ,in the case that more than one agency conducted the initial investigation of a cold case murder1 each agency shall coordinate their case file review or full reinvestigation such that there is only one joint case file review or full reinvestigation occurring at a time in compliance with section #b7;f7 or #d7;d71 as applicable4 #aa4 ,applicability ,this ,act applies in the case of any cold case murder occurring on or after ,january #a1 #aigj4 #ab4 ,definitions ,in this ,act3 7#a7 ,the term designated person means an immediate family member or someone similarly situated1 as defined by the ,attorney ,general4 7#b7 ,the term immediate family member means a parent1 parent-in-law1 grandparent1 grandparent-in-law1 sibling1 spouse1 child1 or step-child of a murder victim4 7#c7 ,the term victim means a natural person who died as a result of a cold case murder4 7#d7 ,the term murder means any criminal offense under section #aaaa7;a7 of title #ah1 ,united ,states ,code1 or any offense the elements of which are substantially identical to such section4 7#e7 ,the term agency means a ,federal law enforcement entity with jurisdiction to engage in the detection1 investigation1 or prosecution of a cold case murder4 7#f7 ,the term cold case murder means a murder-- 7,a7 committed more than three years prior to the date of an application by a designated person under section #b7;a72 7,b7 previously investigated by a ,federal law enforcement entity2 7,c7 for which all probative investigative leads have been exhausted2 and 7,d7 for which no likely perpetrator has been identified4 #ac4 ,annual report 7a7 ,in general ,each agency shall submit an annual report to the ,committees on the ,judiciary of the ,house of ,representatives and of the ,senate describing actions taken and results achieved under this ,act during the previous year4 7b7 ,report ,described ,the report described in subsection 7a7 shall include-- 7#a7 the number of written applications filed with the agency pursuant to section #b7;a72 7#b7 the number of extensions granted1 and an explanation of reasons provided under section #b7;h72 7#c7 the number of full reinvestigations initiated and closed pursuant to section #d2 and 7#d7 statistics and individualized information on topics that include identified suspects1 arrests1 charges1 and convictions for reviews under section #b and reinvestigations under section #d4